


Symmetry

by tinylilremus



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Character Death Fix, Fix-It, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon Fix-It, What Could Have Been
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 03:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20885588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinylilremus/pseuds/tinylilremus
Summary: Richie was always sure he couldn’t possibly love Eddie more than he already did, but then he would learn another of his quirks and his heart would grow another size. He had no idea how Eddie did it, but the asshole had a way of challenging everything he thought he knew about his heart.Though he knew that the next thought that popped into his head was impulsive, there was no way he could wait anymore. Telling Eddie he was just getting something from the drawer in his nightstand, he rolled away and rummaged around for a few minutes before his hand closed around a small velvet box.





	Symmetry

**Author's Note:**

> *AGGRESSIVELY WRITES ALL THE FLUFF BECAUSE I'M STILL HEARTBROKEN*

Richie used to dread coming back to his apartment every night. Though it was undoubtedly luxurious, it was mostly enormous and empty and the large windows that lined the outward-facing walls of his apartment made it him feel like he was in a reptile tank or something. Since Eddie had moved in with him, however, he hadn’t felt that way. Eddie had made it home. 

The thought occurred to him as the two of them lay in bed, Eddie on his phone and Richie preparing for his next comedy special. Realising that he probably wasn’t going to get any further in the process now that he was thinking about Eddie, he set down his tablet on his nightstand and turned to watch his boyfriend tapping away on his phone.

He had sworn for years that he wasn’t the type to settle down, that no one was going to matter enough to him for that to even be an option, but he didn’t have all the facts at the time. It had taken just meeting Eddie’s eyes across the room at the Chinese restaurant for him to realise that the reason for his commitment issues was that after all these years, and despite forgetting that the man existed for a good portion of his life, he was still hopelessly in love with him. The revelation that he was married had initially come as a blow, but as the two of them talked and caught up after all the years apart, it became clear how unhappy his marriage was and something like hope began to flare up in Richie again.

There had been some brief, albeit fairly traumatic bullshit with a demon clown, but they had miraculously all survived it (even Stan, though his situation had been really touch-and-go for a while), Eddie had divorced Myra as soon as he got back to New York and now the two of them lived in Richie’s over the top LA apartment and Richie got to watch his boyfriend’s handsome and ruggedly scarred profile while he concentrated intently on whatever he was doing on his phone.

What _was_ he doing on his phone? The incessant tapping suggested that he wasn’t texting or scrolling through any of his social media apps, so it had to be a mobile game. Shuffling closer under the guise of wanting to cuddle (though only just barely under the guise – he always wanted to cuddle Eddie), he snuck a glance at his phone and was amused to find that he was playing Tetris.

“Oh my god, you’re still playing it after all these years?” he blurts out, unable to contain his delight at this revelation.

“Shut up, it’s a classic,” Eddie retorted, eyes not breaking from his game.

“I’m not disputing that. I’m just ecstatic to finally find myself in a position where you’ll let me watch.”

“Baby, you know how much I love you, but I swear to god if you distract me and make me fuck up in the first five minutes of this round I’m going to fucking rage as you’ve never seen me rage.”

“Noted,” Richie laughed and leaned his head on his shoulder to finally, after all these years, watch him play the only game in the arcade that Eddie had ever really seemed to properly enjoy. He was never allowed to watch him play before (Eddie always said he was far too distracting), though he was starting to think that the real reason was an embarrassment at the way that he played Tetris. It was so fucking tidy. Where there was an S-tetromino on one side, there was a corresponding Z-tetromino on the other. Same with the L and J tetrominoes. The result was a complex, but perfectly balanced board.

“You play Tetris _symmetrically_?” He asked incredulously.

“As far as I can,” Eddie replied. His cheeks were flushed with colour.

“Doesn’t that just needlessly complicate everything? You’re just filling up your board without actually clearing anything.”

“It’s how I like doing it, alright?” said Eddie, cursing as he set down a piece in the wrong place, throwing off his symmetry.

“Ah fuck, sorry, baby. That was probably my bad,” said Richie, pressing a small kiss to Eddie’s shoulder.

“No, don’t worry, it had to happen at some point. Once that happens, I just play the game normally. I just like challenging myself to see how long I can keep it balanced.”

Richie was always sure he couldn’t possibly love Eddie more than he already did, but then he would learn another of his quirks and his heart would grow another size. He had no idea how Eddie did it, but the asshole had a way of challenging everything he thought he knew about his heart.

Though he knew that the next thought that popped into his head was impulsive, there was no way he could wait anymore. Telling Eddie he was just getting something from the drawer in his nightstand, he rolled away and rummaged around for a few minutes before his hand closed around a small velvet box.

Eddie was concentrating far too hard to acknowledge what Richie may or may not have retrieved from his drawer and though Richie’s heart was racing now that he knew what he was going to do in a few minutes, he watched Eddie’s game with fascination. If the high score in the corner of the screen was anything to go by, Eddie was really good and he seemed to have a sixth sense about where to put the pieces so that the pieces coming up would fit perfectly.

When he managed to completely clear his board despite the mess it had been moments before, Richie let out an impressed laugh.

“See, now and then if you’re lucky, you get a fresh start,” said Eddie, already beginning to set out his tetrominoes symmetrically again.

“I have never found you sexier than I do right now,” Richie replied without a scrap of irony.

Eddie laughed.

“I should play stupid arcade games more often.”

“You should.” He pressed another kiss to Eddie’s shoulder. “Makes you irresistible.”

“Okay, remember when we said no distractions? This is very distracting.”

“I’ll bet it is,” he said, scraping his teeth lightly over the skin he’d been kissing a moment ago and enjoying the huff of frustration he received for his efforts. “I’ll stop now though I swear.”

Though Eddie put up a good fight – even managing to best his previous high score – his game ended a few moments later and Richie’s heart kicked into high gear. Needing something to anchor him again, he kissed Eddie and revelled in the way that Eddie always kissed back with such longing and desire. There was usually nothing that Richie wanted more than to melt into that kiss, but he was still holding the velvet box and had an important question to ask.

“Hold on, babe,” he said, pulling back from Eddie. “This is great and I can’t wait to get back to it, but I first need to talk to you about something.”

He watched the concern and anxiety flash across Eddie's face and pressed a quick reassuring kiss to his forehead.

“It’s a good thing, I promise,” he said. “Firstly, this past year, having you here with me has been the best of my life. I thought when I was buying a king-sized bed I was just giving myself extra space to starfish at night. I never could have imagined us both starfishing together, or the way that you hog all the covers because you’re so small that you’re in danger of hypothermia all the time and have to protect your tiny frame with a cocoon of cosy.”

Eddie scoffed and began playing with Richie’s hair.

“I couldn’t imagine how fucking adorable I’d find you first thing in the morning when your hair is sticking up in all directions and the way you always turn and smile like you’re surprised to see me. And like shit, Eddie, for that alone you deserve way more than the amount of effort I’m about to put into this.

“The thing is, I wanted to do this perfectly because you deserve perfection, but since I’m also a messy and impulsive bitch and because the way you play Tetris is just so fucking _you_, this is how it’s going down.”

He opened the box and held it between the two of them. Eddie’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and though Richie began to doubt himself, there was no sense in stopping now.

“I realised, watching you play now, that I can’t live without you. Not again. And though I have no idea how to put this in any kind of eloquent way like Bill or Ben would be able to, I love you more than anything in the world and I want to spend every day for the rest of our lives proving it to you. So, Eddie Kaspbrak, would you make me the luckiest motherfucker on earth by being my husband?”

Eddie didn’t reply. Instead, he grabbed either side of Richie’s face and kissed him. It was deep and sweet and just so perfect in the way it hadn’t been with anyone else that Richie was annoyed that it had taken him as long as it had to do this. When they broke apart, Richie kissed the tip of Eddie’s nose and looked into his eyes.

“I take it that’s a yes then?”

“Yes, yes, yes, so much fucking yes,” said Eddie, letting Richie slide the ring onto his finger. “For the record, I also have a ring downstairs in my jacket pocket. I’ve been trying to find the right moment to ask you.”

“Ah fuck, I should have just let you do it. You’ve done it before,” laughed Richie, pulling Eddie close and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “If it wasn’t clear, the answer would have been yes.”

“You’re such an ass,” Eddie laughed and the two of them lay cuddled in blissful silence for a few moments before Richie laughed again.

“I can’t believe I’m going to have a husband,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m going to _be_ a husband. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that it was the least I could do after the number of times you’ve saved my life,” Eddie replied. “I mean it’s obvious that you have a crush on me or something.”

“Now who’s being an ass?”

And the two of them burst into peals of laughter that had very little to do with Richie’s remark and all to do with the relief and excitement that came with knowing that after all the years of pain and longing and fear and loss, the rest of their lives lay ahead of them, bright and hopeful.

_And beautiful,_ thought Richie, pressing a kiss to the scar on Eddie’s cheek.


End file.
